Who said healthy food has to be boring and expensive.

So I changed my diet/lifestyle December 2013, it was a drastic change, I started eating things I wasn’t used to and drinking weird green juice and all, it was so hard and expensive to keep up with, I couldn’t find a balance between work, housekeeping and paying sole attention to my diet and new lifestyle. I almost gave up the whole healthy lifestyle thing. But one day I sat down and really planned and today I have lost 11kg (24lbs) thanks to my new lifestyle.

I will show you how to live a healthy lifestyle, make your own food in simple fun ways without breaking the bank. If you are planning to go on a clean diet/lifestyle these tips will help you a lot

Deals at Farmer’s Markets: For you to get good deals you have to become a regular customer at the farmer’s market, you may be able to negotiate a lower price if you are a regular, weekly customer. Many sellers appreciate the repeat, regular business and may give you a discount for loyalty. Visit mostly in the evening or early in the morning; I try never to visit in the afternoon, because of the crowd at the store at that time, when you visit in the evening, you may be able to negotiate deals on produce easier. Don’t be afraid to haggle on price with fruits/vegetable. Store Your Fruits and Veggies Properly .If you don’t know how long your veggies will last or how to properly store them, you may end up with wasted food which means wasted money.

Always write down a list: Never go to the farmer’s market without a list of what you want. With a list you will know the kind of fruits or veggies you want and actually need, if you go without a list you will end up buying things that are not necessary.

Buy Fruits and Veggies in Season: This is very important, fruits and veggies are cheaper when they are more available in the market. In February I bought one mango for ₦200, but I can get about 6-7 mangoes for ₦200naira now because it is in season. Only buy fruits and veggies outside season if they are super needed or important. Take full advantage of fruits and veggies in season and make different varieties of clean homemade food.

Buy Frozen: Frozen is the way to go when you can. In this part of the world (Nigeria) it is so hard to get some foreign fruits or veggie, such as blueberries, blackberries, broccoli etc, and even when they are available they are just stupidly expensive, so frozen is the way forward. Just make sure there aren’t a lot of additives, preservatives or salt added.

Prepare Your Meals at Home: Prepare your meals at home and bring them with you. You will be less stressed out and you will save time and money if you plan your meals in advance and bring them with you. Take time out on Sundays to plan your meal for the week, you can make some in bulk such as moin-moin, chicken pepper soup and some green juice. This way you save a lot during the week and also avoid fatty and unhealthy food.

Water: Half your body weight and drink that number in ounces of water a day. Your body weight is 60% water and every living cell in your body requires water to function. Chronic dehydration can lead to acid reflux, heart burn, constipation, poor digestion, headaches, migraines, arthritis, joint pain and much more. Water is cheap and also available, so you have no excuse. Always drink 2-3cups every morning when you wake up.

Green Tea: Have 2-3 Cups of Green Tea a day. There are antioxidants in Green tea called Catechins that slow down and stop the growth of cancer cells. Many research studies have shown that 2-3 cups of green tea a day can decrease your risk of all cancers. Green Tea also helps alkalinize the body and strengthen the immune system.

Always find ways to improvise: Instead of using normal ice-cubes in your smoothies make ice cubes out of green tea, that way you still get some tea into your smoothies or juice, always add some veggies to your peppersoup (carrots, peas, green pepper etc), they can be added to your moin-moin also (beans pudding).

Under ₦5,000 with good planning most of this fruits and veggies can be purchased, you and I know how much you send on junks and soda in a week/month, just take out time to spen on tour health.

Some of my personal healthy Recipes, you should try them out this week.

Chicken vegetable soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 large onion, diced (about 1 cup)

2 carrots, diced (about 1/2 cup)

2 stalks celery, diced, (about 1/2 cup) (optional)

1 small zucchini, diced (about 1 1/2 cups) (optional)

1 clove garlic, minced

I teaspoon ginger, grated

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

I cup diced chicken

Mixture of green and red pepper

2 cubes Maggi

Salt to taste

2cups water

Directions

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, pepper, ginger, and cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, about 3minutes. Add Maggi and salt, water and chicken and leave to cook for 7-10minutes.Serve with wheat bread or brown roll

Mango-banana Smoothie

2 cups ripe mango chunks (from 1-2 mangos)

2-3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 bananas

4cubes of iced green tea

Pinch of cayenne powder

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth.

Green Smoothie

1 cup celery

1 apple, coarsely chopped

1 ripe banana

1/2 cup avocado

1/2 cup parsley leaves

2 1/4 cups water

Combine all ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add a little more water.

Veggie Pasta

Ingredients

1cup pasta

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 small head cauliflower/cabbage

Salt and black pepper

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup chopped tomatoes

I can De rica (Tomato paste)

1 cup chopped green and yellow pepper

Directions

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and return it to the pot.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add the cauliflower, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until golden. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste, pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up the tomatoes with a spoon, until the cauliflower or cabbage tender, 8 to 10 minutes more.

Toss the pasta with the sauce. Serve topped with the parsley.

Healthy Living is a choice you make every day and it’s a way of life!

And that is why you should not miss the next “ADOHR SHOW” 10th May 2014 Themed: TOTALWELLNESS, come and learn more about wellness and healthy living.